As we approach the coming Christmas Season, one cannot help but reflect upon events unfolding about us. After all, this is the time when most make an assessment about our lives and chart the course we should follow to achieve our ends.

Unlike in simpler times, this year there is so much to consider. The world is a far more complex entity than in years gone by. Setting aside the dire economic situation that infects much of the world, there are other events unfolding.

Has some deep underlying force has shaken the globe? The simple harmonics that governed world events and allowed us to predict with some certainty coming actions seem to have devolved into chaos.

{sidebar id=27}

One looks at the Arab Spring and sees how an isolated human action, the self-immolation of young Mohamed Bouazizi, a street vendor in Tunisia, erupted into a transcontinental event. A sudden explosion of human outrage has cut the foundations from under many nations throughout the Middle East and North Africa. The anarchy that has ensued will subside, but no one knows how long it will take to bear fruit, or if that fruit born will be sour or sweet.

This seemed to be limited to a particular part of the world. Then Greece and Italy exploded. Riots and demonstrations overthrew the democratically elected governments in those two nations as well. The rest of the European Union struggles desperately to affix a cap on this blow-out, but one wonders if they are merely tightening the lid of a pressure cooker…resulting in an eventual larger explosion.

Then a new event arose. Vladimir Putin appeared comfortable in his quest to re-assert his domineering regime. All that was needed was to gain control over Parliament for the United Russia Party, get elected again as President, then alter the constitution. The election was held and manipulated as most assumed it would be.

However, the Kremlin did not expect a popular explosion of discontent. Suddenly, Russia faces much the same public anger that so many other nations have experienced. How will Putin react? Will he follow the path of Mubarak of Egypt who gave up power only to face trial? Will he ignite a civil war as in Libya and Syria? Or, will he succeed in suppressing popular sentiment as the Mullahs in Iran?

Whatever course he follows, the impact on world events cannot be underestimated or measured. As with the Middle East…time will tell. Is China next? What of India? Both of these nations are struggling to digest massive changes in their cultures and economies with vast divergence in standards of living among their people.

Add to this the impact of the ever growing and uncontrollable influence of “social media” and there is no telling how contagious all of this will become.

These issues raise a fundamental point. Is the human race governed by the simple laws of harmonics? Does elegant order precede chaos only for order to re-establish itself in a new sometimes more elegant form? In which case what new form will the world take and more important for each of us… how will our lives and the lives of those we hold most dear be impacted during the transition?

This Christmas season may well be remembered as a time of change. But to what no one can predict, which makes reflecting on one’s future both stimulating and intriguing. What will the world look like next Christmas?